By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
SPRINGFIELD – Effingham County boys basketball coach Tramaine Aaron mapped out playoff scenarios for his Rebels.
There’s still 2 1/2 weeks and five subregion games left in the regular season but if the goal is to get to the state tournament, there’s the easy way and the hard way.
“I showed them the brackets for the region tournament. Win and you can make it easier on yourself,” Aaron said.
Come in first in the subregion and you garner byes all the way to the semifinals and are assured a spot in the state playoffs. Place second, and you need just one win to reach the semifinals. Third, you’ll need two wins – one most likely against either Bradwell Institute, Brunswick or Statesboro (teams with a combined 48-8 record).
And fourth, you’d need two wins, most likely coming against either Bradwell Institute, Brunswick or Statesboro.
Entering the week, the Rebels are fourth, but showed signs of improvement after defeating Evans and playing Greenbrier and Lakeside competitively.
Greenbrier (12-7) has the best overall record in the subregion and Lakeside is undefeated in subregion play at 3-0.
Finding offense has been key. ECHS is 7-4 when scoring more than 50 points and 0-7 when scoring under 50.
In a 51-39 victory against Evans on Jan. 14, Anthony “Tre” Davis and Joseph Polite both had career highs with 13 points and Lamar Roberts added nine.
Against Greenbrier on Jan. 15, Elyjah Doty scored 21 points and the Rebels tied their season-high with 63 points but the Wolfpack turned a close game (66-60 with 2:57 to go) into a 77-63 win.
It took quite an effort from the visitors who rode a 33-point performance from Martez Ford. The senior shooting guard had eight of his team’s 11 3-pointers.
Two nights later against Lakeside, ECHS couldn’t quite find enough offense in a 44-41 loss.
This week, the Rebels travel for a rematch with Greenbrier on Jan. 21 and will host Evans on Friday before heading to Guyton for their rivalry game with South Effingham.
The Mustangs won the first meeting 63-62 on Dec. 7 to end a streak of 34 straight losses to ECHS since Jan. 6, 2007
ECHS girls fall to 1-14
Effingham County’s girls continued to struggle while losing three games during the week, extending their losing streak to 13 games.
Nakera Hawkins had 12 points in a 55-35 loss to Evans on Jan. 14 and Hawkins paced the team with 19 points in a 50-33 setback to Greenbrier on Jan. 15.
Last Friday, the Rebels stayed within striking distance before dropping a 49-41 decision to Lakeside. Kyjana Jordan scored 22 points – her fourth 20-point game this season.
The ECHS girls play the same schedule as the boys in the upcoming week, including a rematch with South Effingham. In their first meeting on Dec. 7, the Rebels had a 12-point lead in the first half and maintained a fourth-quarter advantage before falling 45-39.
South has won 11 straight games in the series dating back to Jan. 5, 2019.
